The Fall of Hayaku
A gust of wind slipped through the fierce melee.
Whish.
It was a natural byproduct of Mu-hyuk's swift movements.
"Kuhk!"
He slew one user and immediately unleashed another skill.
Wind Step
Darting forward, he struck from behind a user locked in combat with an Armor Knight.
"You son of a...!"
Hayaku Guild members were dropping like flies, their deaths all too pathetic. Mu-hyuk's level and stats utterly overwhelmed them—it was only natural.
He kept moving without pause, slaying one after another while gradually closing the distance to Miyamoto.
Just like before, blockers stood in his path, but they posed no real challenge.
Slash.
Block him? Just cut them down.
The gap in power had grown that vast.
"What the hell are you all doing?!"
Miyamoto bellowed, but nothing changed.
"Krup!"
Kill, kill, advance.
"You worthless idiots, get out of the way!"
Finally abandoning any pretense of watching from afar, Miyamoto stepped forward. He drew his sword, his face twisted in unbridled rage.
"What the hell is your problem?!"
"What?"
"Why are you doing this to our guild? Why go this far?!"
Mu-hyuk let out a scoffing laugh.
"You started it."
"What did we even do?!"
"You know better than anyone. You're the one who issued the kill order."
Miyamoto trembled.
He knew. He knew.
Back then, he'd given the command so easily.
Hunt them down.
He never imagined two people could corner him like this.
The fight had erupted anyway, and the mounting losses in such a short time had stripped away his reason.
Only fury remained; the original reason for the war faded into irrelevance. To salvage his shattered pride, he couldn't withdraw the kill order.
If only he'd snapped out of it sooner. If he'd pulled back before the public humiliation got this bad, he could've rescinded it and pretended nothing happened.
Things wouldn't have escalated this far. But it was too late now. He'd come to his senses far too late, leaving no room for retreat. He had to see it through to the end.
"Damn it..."
With a bitter sneer, he raised his sword high.
Then charged at Mu-hyuk.
Slow.
Miyamoto's movements were crystal clear.
Mu-hyuk stepped forward, shoving with his shield. Miyamoto, unable to fully swing his blade, stumbled off-balance. Seizing the moment, Mu-hyuk thrust his sword.
Was it because he was the guild master? He recovered quickly, parrying with the flat of his blade. Metal screeched, sparks flying.
Kagang!
The two briefly separated, then clashed again.
"Hup!"
After a few exchanges, Mu-hyuk's eyes sharpened. Miyamoto had raised his shield too high—likely blocking his own vision.
Wind Step
Mu-hyuk swiftly circled behind him.
Storm. Cross Slash.
Miyamoto twisted belatedly, but he couldn't block this one.
-659 HP
-1,179 Additional Damage
Miyamoto's face hardened at the massive damage.
Swish.
Mu-hyuk smirked as Miyamoto retreated. In the same motion, his sword morphed into a bow, an arrow already nocked.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
Miyamoto, thinking the distance safe, panicked and raised his shield.
Wind Step
Mu-hyuk repositioned, aiming for an unblockable spot, and released.
Pang!
He immediately nocked three more arrows.
Storm used three times in succession.
Multishot
Aiming at three Hayaku members rushing to aid Miyamoto, he fired.
The three arrows streaked out on diverging paths. He ignored one guild member; two blocked with shields.
The unshielded one took an arrow to the gut, blasted backward by the force. The two with shields held their ground, waiting for an opening.
But Armor Archers' Power Shots and rapid fire followed, logging them out.
Pabat.
By then, Mu-hyuk was already upon Miyamoto.
"Hup!"
As he braced to defend.
Kieeeak!
A ki blast slammed into his back.
"Ah...!"
Miyamoto staggered; Mu-hyuk sidestepped leisurely and raised his sword.
"Block him!"
A few Hayaku members rushed in, but Armor Cavalry blocked their path faster.
With his summons' shared vision giving him full battlefield awareness, Mu-hyuk could proceed at his leisure.
Looking down at him, he spoke.
"Farewell."
Miyamoto, regaining his wits, reached out.
"W-Wait...!"
No intention of listening.
Whoosh.
The downward slash pierced his chest.
You have killed user 'Miyamoto'.
He faded away soon after.
Thud.
Mu-hyuk picked up the dropped item, turned, and surveyed the battlefield.
The situation was in his favor.
It's almost over.
Leisurely, he began scooping up scattered items.
This battle had started with him under attack, qualifying as legitimate self-defense. That meant a 50% drop chance on killed users.
These were elite guild remnants, after all—the options were mostly solid. A few were exceptional.
Nice.
A faint smile tugged at Mu-hyuk's lips.
*
About ten Hayaku Guild members remained.
They raised their hands in surrender.
"W-Wait a sec!"
"What?"
"We'll leave Hayaku Guild, so please, no more..."
"Let's call it quits now?"
"Y-Yeah."
Mu-hyuk closed in.
"Fine."
His easy agreement left them bewildered.
"Starting tomorrow."
"Huh...?"
"We'll stop starting tomorrow."
"T-That's not..."
"Fuck, you're kidding, right?!"
"Don't like it? Tough."
Mu-hyuk ordered his summons to attack.
Kwagwagwang!
The last Hayaku members perished.
Six items dropped.
"Kuh, what a loot farm!"
"Good, huh?"
"Hell yeah. But is it really over now?"
"Not yet."
"Huh? What's left?"
"The guild master."
Regular members would log in and quit anyway. No sane user would stick around after this display of overwhelming power.
That left only the guild master, Miyamoto. He'd died just twice so far. Time to torment him a bit more.
"He's got deep pockets."
"Yeah."
"If he uses that cash to recruit again, it'll be a hassle."
"Ah..."
"Let's end it clean."
"Whatever you say."
After a short break, the two returned to the Wakan Empire and rented a room.
Waruruk.
Mu-hyuk emptied his inventory.
Weapons and armor of all sorts.
Accessories, consumables.
Even some junk.
"All this from killing those guys?"
"Yeah."
"Kuh, satisfying."
Sung Min-woo checked the options and clutched two items tightly.
"Can I use these?"
"Go ahead."
Mu-hyuk decided to use one himself.
It was from Miyamoto.
A consumable with outstanding options.
◈ Fairy springwater compressed by magic. Increases MP by 300 and MP recovery by 5% upon use.
How Miyamoto got it or why he kept it—Mu-hyuk neither knew nor cared.
It was useful, so he'd use it.
"This one for me."
"What is it?"
"Boosts MP recovery."
"Ah."
He drank the springwater.
Gulp.
A refreshing chill slid down his throat.
'MP +300' has increased.
'MP Recovery Rate +5%' has increased.
His MP recovery had been lagging lately; this was a relief.
"Sell the rest."
"Roger."
"The proceeds..."
Sung Min-woo cut him off.
"You get 70%, I get 30%."
"Not splitting even?"
"You did all the heavy lifting. Anyone can see that."
"Still..."
"Done deal."
They settled it and listed the items at auction.
It took time with so many.
"Hoo, finished."
"All 72-hour listings?"
"Yeah."
"Then post the commission and rest."
Leaving the inn, they headed to the Wakan Empire's Mercenary Guild and placed a request.
"Just track Hayaku Guild Master Miyamoto's movements?"
"Yes. Two weeks."
"Understood. 200 gold upfront."
They paid and left.
The long war was nearly over.
Just tie up loose ends.
Cleanly.
The next day.
Miyamoto logged in and despaired at the missing Surge Springwater.
"Nothing goes right."
It was a key item from a linked quest—essential to complete the next one.
Without it, the quest failed, slapping him with penalties.
"Haa."
But he couldn't quit.
He had funds.
Start over. Again.
Steeling himself, he opened the guild window.
One member left.
Zero excluding himself.
Those worthless... forget them. Start fresh.
He left the temple, strolling the plaza.
First, recruit members.
But as infamous infamy spread, no one joined. He switched plans: level up first.
Yeah, if I get stronger...
He headed to a hunting ground, preparing for battle.
"Haaap!"
After slaying a few monsters.
"There you are."
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo appeared.
"Y-You...!"
"Can't end it halfway."
Mu-hyuk's skeletons surrounded him.
No escape.
"Farewell."
The onslaught caught Miyamoto flat-footed; he died without resistance.
His vision darkened.
Chiiik.
The capsule hissed open, revealing the ceiling.
-----!
A sharp yell erupted.
*
Mu-hyuk was hunting leisurely for the first time in ages.
"Ah, feels good."
Miyamoto?
No big deal. Mercenaries would report his location as usual.
Miyamoto had hired his own, but they were no match for Mu-hyuk. Only they died.
Request fees climbed; Miyamoto poured in more cash.
Meanwhile, Mu-hyuk kept killing him. On the eighth death, Miyamoto dropped to his knees, begging.
"P-Please..."
"Hmm."
"This is enough, right?! I'll cancel all my requests!"
"What if I'd lost?"
"Huh...?"
"If Hayaku had crushed me, what would you have done? You'd have hounded me relentlessly, fearing I'd come back later. Until I quit Illusion. Right?"
Miyamoto fell silent.
"Same here."
"Urgh...!"
Mu-hyuk swung indifferently.
You have killed user 'Miyamoto'.
'Infamy +20' has increased.
This was Miyamoto's ninth death.